Deferred Credit

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DEFINITION of 'Deferred Credit'

Income that is received by a business but not immediately reported as income. Typically, this is done on income that is not fully earned and, consequently, has yet to be matched with a related expense. Such items include consulting fees, subscription fees and any other revenue stream that is intricately tied to future promises. For example, a book club might defer income from a two-year membership plan until all the costs of procurement and shipping are assessed. Also known as deferred revenue or deferred income.

INVESTOPEDIA EXPLAINS 'Deferred Credit'

Deferred credit is used largely for bookkeeping purposes and as a means to even out, or "smooth" financial records and give a more accurate picture of business activities. Using the previous example of a book club, if all membership or subscriptions fees just happened to come in during the first quarter and all products were shipped out in the second, the quarter-to-quarter income statement would obviously be skewed.